After taking potshots at Virat Kohli, Pakistan cricketer Sohail Khan has now taken a jibe at the latest pace sensation from India: Umran Malik. The 25-year-old has clearly made a name for himself thanks to his ability to bowl at a pace of 150 plus and that too constantly. In the recently concluded Sri Lanka white ball series, he went onto register a pace of 156 KMPH. This was the fastest he ever bowled in his nascent career. He has been hailed by former cricketers and pundits alike, but this gentleman from Pakistan felt otherwise.
Umran has played 16 matches for India – 8 each in ODIs and T20Is – and picked 24 wickets at an average less than 30 in either format.
Speaking on the Nadir Shah Podcast, Khan said that he has seen many bowlers like Umran when he was asked if the youngster from India can break Shoaib Akhtar’s pace barrier. ‘Iske jaise bahut hai,’ he replied.
“I feel this Umran Malik guy is a good bowler. I’ve seen 1-2 matches. He runs fast and has kept other things is check as well. But if you think of fast bowlers with speed in excess of over 150-155 kph, I can count 12-15 players right now who play tape-ball cricket. If you go visit the trails organised by Lahore Qalandars, you’ll find many players,” Sohail said on The Nadir Ali podcast.
“Iske (Umran Malik) jaise toh bohot hain. Domestic cricket bhari padi hai hamaari. (Our domestic setup is filled with bowlers like Umran Malik). When a bowler comes through in our domestic level, he becomes a bonafide bowler. Like Shaheen, Naseem Shah, Haris Rauf… these are bowlers who know their stuff. I can give you plenty of names.”
Earlier during an interaction, another Pakistan cricketer hadn’t shied away from taking a jibe at Umran. Comparing him to Haris Rauf, Aaqib Javed had said that Umran’s pace drops during the course of the match. Furthermore, Khan weighed in on if Umran can indeed break Akhtar’s record.
“There is only one thing that can break Shoaib Akhtar’s record, and that is called a bowling machine because no human can ever do it. The reason is that the amount of hard work that Shoaib had put in, no one has. He used to complete 32 rounds in one day; I used to do 10 in a week. He would run on mountains with weight tied his legs and sprint,” said the Pakistan pacer, who last played an international match back in 2017.
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